


The Bitter Lament

by thecuriositycore



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: I decided to punish the prince this time, More Tags to be added as I go, gradual prince-to-snatcher, so many good ideas this month, still sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 06:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14688375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecuriositycore/pseuds/thecuriositycore
Summary: The Snatcher wasn't always who he was. Even after Vanessa, he wasn't immediately who he was now. For a while, there was just a scared, cursed prince that only wanted to get help.





	The Bitter Lament

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for posting so much but I've been getting a lot of ideas and it's not my style to hide them if I really like them. This one is inspired by 'Open Up Your Eyes' from the MLP movie (leave me alone, it's a good song) and is for better or worse, my take on the transition from Prince to Snatcher after he gets away from Vanessa. It'll contain a lot of pain, fair warning.
> 
> Also, forgive any potential shittiness in the fic below. It's been a very long time since I pursued a multi-chapter fic that wasn't kink, and I'm going to be trying my best to keep everything well-paced and smoothly run.  
> I'm also a massive procrastinator so updates will be beyond slow.
> 
> Still, hopefully this is an enjoyable read. It'll be a few chapters before anything really juicy starts up, but trust me, I've got good stuff planned~
> 
> NOTE; I've called the prince Edwin in this fic because one of my tumblr muses - a version of the prince that I've named Edwin. I needed a name and didn't feel comfortable calling him anything else. Sorry.

He barely noticed that the chains were broken. That they’d rusted and stopped being tight ages ago now. It was only when one of them stopped being able to hold itself shut, when he tilted forward and slipped, nearly hitting the wall. He didn’t make any noise – not a single not came from his mouth, as he’d learned ages ago that anything that agitated Va-... no. Anything that agitated the _monster_ , was bad. It would send her down to where he was, and that was a whole host of issues he didn’t want to deal with.

She’d get even  _more_ angry if she saw that he was halfway free. That was the one thing she  _never_ wanted, not ever.  But him? He  _ached_ to be free. To be outside. He probably looked different now, definitely skinnier. His eyes seemed to be poorly as well – his skin looked almost  _black_ . And not the normal sort of black color – a shadow black, a sort of iridescent purple-black that wouldn’t look out of place on tar or oil.

Maybe it was just the lighting? He’d worry about it later.  Right now, he had a shackle to break.

Edwin glanced around the room – up, down, all over the room – for something,  _anything_ that might be able to pry the shackle or break the chain. Nothing. Well, nothing in reach. Even with one arm free he was still attached to the wall.

So instead, he pulled. Grabbing onto the shackle still stuck to him and  _heaved_ . He didn’t expect too much, the dungeon shackles were supposed to be strong. They’d been built with struggling in mind – or, they  _had_ been. When one of the chain links broke with a metallic ‘ _chink_ ’ noise, he tumbled backwards, landing with a splash in the water that had long since gathered on the floor.  Almost instantly he was up, or at least as fast as he could manage with how sore and stiff he was. Edwin could already hear here – the angry noises of the monster that had stolen his Vanessa away. 

Run. He had to run before she came down here and locked him up all over again!  
There was a back entrance. He remembered it, remembered that little back door for he servants and deliverymen to take their shipments, so they didn’t have to traipse in and out of the front door each time.

He’d go through there.

Movement was hard – he’d been hanging off the wall for so long that his limbs were protesting their sudden usage. Honestly Edwin was just glad his muscles hadn’t totally atrophied yet. He hit the door that led outside, shoved it open – and gasped.

Snow, and ice. It had been spring when he’d last been outside, and now it seemed to be winter. So at the very least, _months_ had passed by, no doubt longer by how he felt. But he had no time to wait.  The monster was coming, and he didn’t want to risk the idea that she had no problems following him outside.  
So he ran. Shivering, scared, and beyond sore, Prince Edwin ran, ignoring the false, tainted yells of the monster that had stolen his dear Vanessa from him while he’d been gone.

0o0o0o0

The forest looked... different. It was darker somehow, the color was dulled as though somebody had sucked it away. Maybe it was winter, and the cold was just worse this year? Yes, that... that had to be it. And the town was nearby, so he could go and ask them! But first... he had to take a look at himself. If as much time had passed as Edwin thought had passed, then the people – and his parents, more importantly – probably thought he was long dead.

Edwin cried out the moment he looked down at himself. While still in his old clothes – which were justifiably tattered – he hadn’t been seeing things in the basement. His skin  _was_ an iridescent, purple-black. What had happened? Had it been the monster? Had she cast some kind of spell on him? For what reason?

... Could he go into town like this? He’d have to. He’d have to trust that the citizens wouldn’t panic at the way he looked. 

And so Edwin walked on. The monster hadn’t caught up with him yet, so perhaps he’d gotten lucky, and she didn’t leave the manor. A shame. He’d have liked to be able to go back, make it his own until he could contact his parents. Surely  _they_ could help him.  
After he convinced them he was who he claimed, of course.

“For now, I need to get to the city, and find a place to stay.” He said to himself, trying to ignore the sound of his own voice. Weak from disuse, yes, but also echoy. Another affectation of the magic, no doubt.  
Maybe later he’d try and see if his own magic still worked? He’d been practising while he’d been away at law school, wanting to surprise Vanessa with it once he’d given her the flowers. But then the monster showed her face – he had to wonder what it had done with the _real_ Vanessa. His princess was never that aggressive or violent, and certainly not for such foolish reasons.

“I hope you didn’t suffer, dear Vanessa...” She was probably dead by now. _He_ was only alive because he’d been in the basement, and even then it was probably the magic that had kept him from wasting away. The monster wanting him to be with her forever.

At least that had been in his favor. Well...  _now_ , at least. Before, it had been a curse. He’d wanted nothing more than to die, to waste into nothing and finally be released from his imprisonment.  Sure, he was free  _now_ , but he hadn’t been  _then_ . And hadn’t thought he ever  _would_ be.

Edwin considered himself lucky that the chains had grown so weak he could snap them himself. Granted he still had a lone rusty shackle on his left wrist, but that could be dealt with later.  
For now, he had a city to get to.

0 o0o0o0

Edwin regretted going to the city. If he’d known that it would look like...  _this_ , then he’d have saved himself having to see it  for himself . Ruined buildings and spires of ice encroaching on everything. Like everything else in the manor’s vicinity, it was coated in snow.  The monster’s magic had reached farther than he’d thought...

“I doubt there’ll be anyone here... Maybe the villages are still okay?” He’d stay only long enough to try and find supplies. A new set of clothes, perhaps – he didn’t want to go around dressed the way he was; his current clothes were tattered and ruined, dirty and frayed and in desperate need of changing.

A s he’d suspected, Edwin saw no people as he wandered. Well... no  _living_ people. Most of the time, he saw ice sculptures that he suspected weren’t really ice. They looked too terrified, in fear and running and helping other ice forms that had fallen. There had been an exodus, and not everybody had made it out.  
Clearly the monsters magic  _had_ reached here, and it made him wonder why  _he_ wasn’t ice as well. 

Perhaps the monster didn’t want her prize to be dead? It made sense. If she’d cursed him to look like this, to live forever regardless of if he ate or drank or slept, then why would she bother freezing him? Perhaps the citizens were frozen to keep people  _out_ of the castle, Edwin theorized, gently touching one of the ice figures with an unfeeling, shadowy hand. Hopefully being frozen like this didn’t hurt. Even more, he hoped they weren’t  _aware_ in there – what a torture that would be... 

At least in the basement he was only held by chains – he could  _move_ if he had the energy. There was no moving for an ice sculpture. 

“I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what for. For being gone when a monster had slipped into the town, taken his Vanessa from him and pretended to be the queen? Perhaps. He should have _been_ there, perhaps he could have convinced his parents to pay for a tutor that would come to the manor instead of him going off to law school in another kingdom.  
At least that way he’d have been able to make an attempt at saving his Vanessa.

“Alright. The buildings are ruined but there _has_ to be some intact clothes...” He said, slipping into what he knew was once somebodies home – nobody was inside,  of course there wasn’t – but perhaps... if he was lucky... “Aha! A traveling cloak!” Oh – it was... tattered. Intact, but tattered at the edges like things had been nibbling at it for a long time. Still, it would function.  
Edwin put it on as he left the building, wondering how long he’d be at this before he had everything he needed. There wouldn’t be any food, not after this long – however long it had been – but he at least had to find a weapon. Something to defend himself with in case beasts decided to attack him in the woods.

The villages, after all, didn’t have official roads. Not anything a carriage could travel down, at least. A few men on horses, sure, but a vehicle wouldn’t fit through the trees down the pathways that existed.

Normally, he’d consider taking a weapon off a dead guard, but they were all frozen. Not just them, but their gear as well. Armor, shields, swords – all of it. And he couldn’t smith one, no sir. For one, he didn’t know how, and for two, even if he did there was no way he’d be able to man the forge by himself.  
He’d... just have to hope, then. Maybe if he practised at his magic, he could use _that_ as a weapon?

It was better than nothing.

0o0o0o0

The farther away he got from the manor, the less snow there seemed to be. Was it... _not_ winter? Perhaps that too was the monsters magic. How strong did she have to be to be able to do so much, ravage his and Vanessa’s Subcon so thoroughly?  
Edwin pulled the travelling cloak around himself a bit tighter. He didn’t want to think about what had been done, about how much had been destroyed. All that mattered right now was getting home, getting _help_. If he could get to his parents, convince them of who he was, and have them send out their best men – perhaps they could find some survivors, save them.

Maybe even kill that beast in the manor.  
He suspected that the monster had killed all of Vanessa’s court, which meant his own parents would have to absorb the once-kingdom into their own territory, at least until the place could be stabilized. It wasn’t as though there would be enough people left to complain about it, since Subcon’s own rulers were... _clearly_ indisposed right now.

“It’ll be fine. I just need to talk to my parents.” If they were still alive. He still didn’t know how _long_ it had been. Maybe a few weeks, maybe years. For all he knew, he’d been declared dead so long ago that there was a new heir to the throne, and his coming back would be a pointless complication. But then, he didn’t have to say he wanted the throne – if there _was_ a new heir, he could let the child keep it, and simply beg aid of his parents to save their suffering neighbour kingdom.  
The union had been meant to make them both stronger, so this complication would have been disastrous. If they could even just take the land, it would be good. 

As Edwin walked, having long since left the empty, ruined city, he noticed a little light in the distance. Was that...? A fire! A campfire – which in turn meant somebody nearby!

“Hello? Is somebody there?!” He called out, running towards the campfire. “Please – I need help!” And he could perhaps help them in return. Maybe not now, but definitely later.

“Who’s there?” An older male voice calling out in return. Edwin almost cried out in delight – people! Living, breathing people. Edwin had been scared that he’d never find anyone, and while part of him was scared – after what that monster did to him in the manor, who _wouldn’t_ be – the rest was more than eager to talk to somebody that wasn’t _her_.

“I’m th-” Wait. No. Saying he was the prince would be bad – the prince had been missing for who knew how long, and would invite all kinds of chaos. He wanted allies right now, not subjects. “I’m... I’m Edwin. I just want a place to rest for the night.” As he drew closer, within range of the fire, he could see him; an older fellow who looked like he’d been a farmer once. If anyone could survive in Subcon it would be them; all that hard work with plants and animals both.

But while Edwin was filled with delight and hope upon seeing this other human, the other man looked... less delighted. In fact, as Edwin got closer, the man’s expression became.. _scared_.

“I – I know what it looks like but-” A pitchfork stabbed towards him, and Edwin cried out, jerking backwards and freezing.

“Stay back!” Edwin shook his head.

“I’m not going to hurt you!” It was his skin, he knew it. He hadn’t been able to see his face, but it followed that if his skin had been so greatly altered, perhaps his face had too. Perhaps he looked scarier than he thought.

“Your kind isn’t welcome here!” Edwin jerked back in surprise, feeling insulted. _His_ kind? Nobles?

“What do you mean, ‘my kind’?” The farmer huffed, holding steady and not backing down from his aggressive, ready-to-fight stance. Edwin wondered idly if the man had been a soldier once.

“Monsterfolk. Maybe you _don’t_ want to hurt me but I don’t trust you. And I can’t spare nothing for you. Move on – you don’t come near me and I won’t touch you.” The words stung, but he could hardly blame the man. Of _course_ this man would see him as a monster, everything that had to have happened since his disappearance.

He almost wanted to try and convince the man to let him stay. To talk to him more and earn himself a safe place to rest, but part of him was whispering, scared and paranoid after the monster had locked him in the basement – what if the man _did_ let him stay but only so he could kill him when he slept? Not safe, never safe, not here with somebody he didn’t know.

So he backed away. The farmer man didn’t leave his aggressive stance until Edwin was far away, until the fire was little more than a bright spot in the horizon.  
Arms wrapped around his waist, Edwin shivered. He hoped that wouldn’t become a pattern, people calling him a monster... All he wanted was a bit of help. To make it safe and sound back home, which was an intimidating trek when you were on your own, on foot.

He could do it. He just had to stay strong.

0o0o0o0

It was some hours later when Edwin finally settled down for the night. Whatever meager light had been in the sky when he’d escaped the manor was gone now, replaced with an inky blackness that Edwin found he blended into quiet nicely. It was interesting, how efficiently his new shadowy form melted into the darkness. Like he was _built_ for it.  
He could explore that later though. For now, he had to rest. A good proper rest for the first time in... a while.

A rest that didn’t include him being strapped to the wall, with shackles cutting into his skin. In comparison, laying curled up on the ground would be a blessing.

“I’ll be fine. It’ll be okay, I just... need to get home.” He reassured himself. “The farmer was just scared, and he had every right to be. Eventually I’ll find somebody who’ll be happy to help me, I just know it.” He had to stay strong. If he could get away from the monster, then he could do this too.

But... for now, a rest. He’d move farther in the morning – provided he wasn’t woken up by monsters. Not that he’d seen any thus far – not even little ones.

The young man curled up on the ground near the fire, slowly drifting off to sleep. Eventually, for the first time since he’d been locked up – he slept. Not perfectly soundly, but he slept. And that was better than nothing.


End file.
